Morality of the Sabbath AND Its Importance.
By D. M. Canright
XI. The Sabbath precept, like all moral precepts, applies equally well to all nations, in all countries, and at all times.
All moral laws are of universal application. They are not restricted to one nation, or to one country, nor do they change with circumstances. But, on the other hand, merely ceremonial precepts are, from their very nature, restricted in their application to certain persons, times, and places. Here, again, we find evidence of the morality of the Sabbath. As we have shown already, God instituted the Sabbath at creation in Eden before the fall. From this fact several important conclusions necessarily follow. 1. It is not a type. Types were given after the fall to shadow forth redemption; but the Sabbath points back to creation, not forward to redemption. See Ex. 20:8. 2. The Sabbath being given in the Edenic state indicates that it was designed to be a perpetual institution. Hence we read that when the curse shall be removed from this old earth, and the new-earth state shall be brought in, then the Sabbath will still be observed, and that forever. Isa. 66:22, 23. 3. It is not a Jewish Sabbath. The simple fact that it was given at creation, twenty-three hundred years before such a distinction existed, proves this. A Jew is a descendant of Judah, one of the twelve tribes. But Judah himself was not born till nearly twenty-three hundred years after creation. Hence it is absurd to call it a Jewish institution. It is never so called in the Bible, but it is ever designated as God's holy Sabbath. The Sabbath was given to Adam who was the representative head of the whole human race, the father of all men and all nations. Acts 17:26. In giving it to him, God thereby gave it to man as a race; hence Christ says truly, "The Sabbath was made for man." Mark 2:27. He does not say it was made for the Jew man, nor for the Gentile man, nor for the Christian man; nor does he limit it in any manner; but he puts it on the broad basis that it was made for man. It is a rule in grammar that a noun, unlimited by an adjective, is to be taken in its broadest sense, as, "Man is mortal," meaning all men, the race. So in this case; Christ does not limit it to one class of men, but says that it was made for "man," that is the race. In this language he points us right back to the time when the Sabbath was made and says that it was made for man. When was the Sabbath made? It was made at creation. God rested on the seventh day, blessed it, and sanctified it. This is how and when it was made. For whom was it made? Christ's language is definite. It "was made for man." Being given to Adam, the father of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews, it was thus given to all nations; for Paul says that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." Acts 17:26. A careful examination of the commandment will show that it is equally applicable to all nations in all ages. Read it carefully. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Cannot Gentiles do that as well as the Jews? Can we not do it as well in America as in Asia? "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." Is not that enough for any man to work in any country, or in any nation? Can the Gentiles endure to work more days than the Jews? Have we not already shown that all men do need a day of rest after six of labor? "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Is not the seventh day God's rest day now as truly as it was then? Does it not remain a fact now that God did rest upon the seventh day? and as long as this continues to be a fact, will it not be true that the seventh day is God's rest day? Certainly. "In it thou shalt not do any work." We need a day of rest and worship now as much as then, the Gentiles as much as the Jews. "Thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates." Do not all these relations exist now among all nations? Do they not all have sons and daughters, servants and cattle? Certainly. "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." Is it not just as true now as it was then that God created all things in six days and rested the seventh day? Does not this remain a fact now? "Wherefore [that is, for this reason] the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Why did the Lord bless the Sabbath day and hallow it? Because that in it he had rested from all his work. As we have shown, the Lord set apart the seventh day as a memorial of creation. Who should observe that memorial? All who are interested in creation. Verily, are not the Gentiles as much interested in the work of creation as the Jews ever were? As Paul significantly asks, "Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also." Rom. 23:29. Was it not, then, true that God created the Gentiles as well as the Jews; and did not the Gentiles inhabit the earth which he there created? Are they not constantly enjoying the blessings which he there made for man? Certainly. Then why should they not be as interested to commemorate this great work as were the Jews? In short, there is not a single idea in the fourth commandment but what applies equally well to all nations, in all countries, and at all times. Did the Jews need a day of rest? So do the Gentiles. Did the Jews need a day for religious worship? So do the Gentiles. The Jews kept the seventh day to commemorate creation, so should the Gentiles. XII. The Sabbath is the seal to God's moral law, without which that law would be of no authority.
Every government has its seal, and every office its seal. It has been found very important that this should be so. This seal is always attached to every law, edict, or document put forth by the government or the officers of the government, and they would be of no authority without it. Its object is to point out the author of the document,—what his office is, and how far his jurisdiction extends. This is necessary in order that the subjects of any power may not be imposed upon by an impostor. This seal is a sign of the authority of the one issuing such law, edict, or official document. To illustrate: John Brown is elected justice of the peace for a certain township. It becomes necessary for him to issue a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Jones. He writes it in due form; but, being a novice in the business, he simply signs his name John Brown. The sheriff proceeds to arrest Mr. Jones. But Jones being a sharp man and wishing to gain time, demands the officer's authority for arresting him. The sheriff shows him the warrant. "John Brown," says Jones, "Who is John Brown? There are many John Browns in this world. I don't run at the call of every John Brown." What could the sheriff do? His warrant is worthless. It has no authority. Why? Because it has no seal to it. But now let Brown just put the seal of his office to that warrant, then Mr. Jones will have to respect it. The signature now stands, "John Brown, Justice of the Peace, for such a township." This tells which Brown it is, what his office is, and how far his authority extends. Take it in a higher office. Every lawful document issued by our President must have the seal of his office attached. Simply signing his name, "U. S. Grant," would give it no authority. To this he must add, "President of the United States." "U. S. Grant," tells his name. "President," tells his office. "Of the United States," tells how far his authority extends. This, then, is the nature and object of a seal. Now if a seal is so important in human laws how much more so in the divine law? Has the living God no seal? Reason itself would teach us that he has; but the Bible settles this beyond dispute. "And I saw another angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God." Rev. 7:2. Then the living God has a seal, and this seal is in his law; for thus we read: "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." Isa. 8:16. As we have shown, no law is of any authority unless it contains the seal of the lawgiver; and this seal must be in the handwriting of the one issuing such law. If therefore, the living God has ever given a law in his own handwriting, then that law will contain his seal. The moral law, the ten commandments, was given by God and written with his finger. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." Ex. 24:12. "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." Ex. 31:18. Now let us examine this law and see if we can find God's seal in it. A seal, remember, is to point out the author of the law, what his office is, and how far his jurisdiction extends. To bring out the thought clearly, we will suppose that a missionary is sent to convert the heathen who have never heard of the true God, but are worshipers of the sun. Of course his first effort must be to convince them that they are not worshiping the true God, and hence are sinners. He learns from Paul, that "by the law is the knowledge of sin;" Rom. 3:20, and that without the law a man would not know sin. Rom. 7:7; James 2:9; Rom. 4:15; 5:13. Obtaining a congregation of these heathen, he reads them the first commandment. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." "Me," says one, "whom does he mean by me? Does he mean himself?" "O no," says another, "he means our god, the sun. We don't have any other gods before him." What could the missionary do? This commandment does not show who the true God is. It does not tell who gave this law, nor what his authority is. But the missionary knows that the law must point out the true God, so he reads the second commandment. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments." They all exclaim, "O, we never make any images to our god, the sun. Of course we will love him, for he promises to show mercy to those who do." Here the missionary finds himself balked again. Still he is confident that the law will point out the true God, who alone must be worshiped. He reads the next commandment. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; (for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.)" Once more they reply, "No, indeed, we never speak the name of our god, the sun, but with the greatest reverence." Here he is stranded again. He would read the fourth commandment, but he thinks that it never was of much account, and has been abolished any way, so he reads the fifth. "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." "There," say they, "our god the sun will give us long life if we honor our parents." The missionary now runs over the other five precepts, but does not find the name of God in them at all, nor anything which tells who is the author of this law, nor anything by which he can convince these heathen that they are not worshiping the true God. As his last hope he now turns and reads the only remaining commandment, the Sabbath precept. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Ah! here he has the very thing for which he has been so long looking. Who is the author of this law? It is the one who made heaven and earth, and all things in them. He is the one who made the sun which these heathen are worshiping. Hence they are idolaters, not worshiping the God who gave this law. Thus it will be seen that this commandment is the one, and the only one of the whole law, which does point out the true God and author of the law. The law was divided into two parts and written upon two tables of stone—the first four commandments relating to man's duty to God, his Creator, upon the first table; and the last six precepts, relating to our duty to our neighbor, upon the second table. At the bottom of the first table God signed his name and put his seal to it. After giving the first four commandments, the Lord then gives the authority by which he commands them to do these things. Thus: "For in six days the LORD [here he writes his name,—the LORD] made [this gives his office,—MAKER of] heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is; and rested the seventh day: [this shows how far his authority extends,—through heaven and earth. The Lord did thus formally sign and seal his own divine law. Then he adds], wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Thus plainly is it shown that the Sabbath precept does contain the seal to God's law, without which that law would be of no authority whatever. There is nothing else in the whole law which shows by whom or by what authority it was given. This fact alone elevates the Sabbath precept to the highest moral importance. It shows that all the other precepts of the moral law depend for their authority upon the fact set forth in the fourth commandment and commemorated by the seventh-day Sabbath. The Lord says to me, "Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal, &c. What gave him the right thus to command me? Answer. The very fact that he is my Creator and the maker of all the earth. So important a fact as this upon which rests God's authority as a lawgiver, should be sacredly guarded and the knowledge of it carefully preserved among men. As we have abundantly shown, this was the very object for which the Sabbath was given. God made the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. Did God rest because he was tired? No, indeed, for he neither fainteth nor is weary (Isa. 40:28); but evidently he did it to lay the foundation of an institution for man by which he could commemorate God's great work of creation. At the close of six days' labor as we celebrate God's rest day, it becomes a weekly reminder of the great work of creation and our obligation to our Maker. Creative power is the distinguishing attribute of the living God, and to this the Lord always appeals as the evidence of his existence, his power, and his authority, and as that which distinguishes him from all false gods.